Campanella After Maron Circa 1781 - Large Engraving Of Drunken Hercules

Drunken Hercules
Gouache print
Sight dimensions: H. 51 ; W. 82 (cm.)
Overall dimensions: H. 71 ; W. 102 (cm.)
Rome, circa 1781, late 18th c. frame.

From a suite of twelve engravings depicting the decor of the Villa Negroni Montalto. Hand-gouache plate of Hercules' Drunkenness after a model by Maron and engraved by Campanella.

Villa Negroni
A property dating back to the 2nd century, it was excavated in Rome in 1777, unearthing wonderfully well-preserved Pompeian-style wall paintings. The frescoes were bought and deposited by the English merchant Henry Tresham, but were lost, while the villa was destroyed. Only Campanella's engravings, based on models by Anton Raphael Mengs and his brother-in-law Anton von Maron, allow us to appreciate the wall decorations. These sheets were published by the architect Camillus Buti under the title “Picturae parietinae inter Esquilias et Viminaelm collem superiori anno detectae” between 1778 and 1793 for documentation and graphic inspiration. The decorations at Villa Negroni were a direct inspiration for Lord Bristol's pompeian room at Ickworth House in Suffolk. A series of these plates can be found in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum and another in the British Museum.

Bibliography :- Hetty Joyce, “The Ancient Frescoes from the Villa Negroni and their Influence in the Eight-eenth and Nineteenth Centuries”, The Art Bul-letin (1983): LXV,3, pp.423-440

Condition report: minor soiling, minor frame damage.